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Purim & Faith
Reprinted with the permission of Rachel Epstein.
This month we celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim, which celebrates Jewish people’s survival of the wrath of Haman. In We Are Not Meant to Die. Dr. Jerry explains the significance of Purim and how the actions of the heroine, Queen Esther, exemplify the Ten Cosmic Laws, commonly known as the 10 Commandments:
“The Jewish holiday of Purim captures man’s genocidal impulse that has pervaded our world for millennia. In the Western sacred tradition, it is said that in every generation there arises a villain whose aim is to eliminate an ethnic group considered a danger to the larger social order in power.
The story of Purim takes place in the Persian kingdom ruled by King Xerxes. His top advisor, Haman, is infuriated when a certain Jew, Mordechai, refuses to “bow down” to him in a public procession. In retaliation, Haman procures a royal edict to exterminate all the Jews throughout the empire as “these people” have different customs and may be a danger to the country, and even potential traitors.
Unbeknownst to Xerxes, his new queen — Esther — is Jewish and the niece of the very man Haman seeks to annihilate, Mordechai. Esther keeps her identity secret from the king, who has selected her from many virgins in a beauty contest. As it turns out, Mordechai had previously alerted Esther to a secret assassination plot against Xerxes. Esther relates the information to Xerxes, who then apprehends the traitors. Xerxes asks Esther how she came by this knowledge. She states, ‘In the name of Mordechai I have this knowledge.’ That is, she gives credit to her source and does not claim the credit for herself! This pivotal attribution fulfills four of the Ten Cosmic Laws that sustain the world:
- Honesty, i.e., not stealing (Eighth Law);
- Truth, i.e., not bearing false witness (Ninth Law);
- Preserving freedom of others, i.e., not coveting or possessing for yourself what doesn’t belong to you (Tenth Law); and
- Preserving life, i.e., don’t murder physically or psychically by destroying another’s name, for example by taking away what she or he has created or achieved (Sixth Law).”
In the spirit of Esther’s great faith in God, here is an imagery exercise for fostering faith under what appears to be bleak circumstances:
Honoring Dr. Jerry’s Yahrzeit
Jerry’s favorite holiday was Purim. So it is no accident that he left this dimension on that day. This year, March 13th (the 14th of Adar) marks the anniversary of the passing of our beloved Dr. Jerry on the Hebrew calendar. Founder of AIMI and pioneer in the practice of mental imagery, Jerry’s legacy lives on through the teachings of AIMI and through his many dear students. We invite you to make a donation to AIMI in Dr. Jerry’s memory that will be dedicated towards publishing his manuscript, Weapons of Mass Construction: How Your Beliefs Can Help Save Your Life. Donations can be made athttps://aimi.us/donate/
New Book From AIMI Graduate
Dr. Shafer provides a FUN guide to integrating brainbody therapies EMDR, Brainspotting, and Yoga Nidra for trauma and self-regulation. This guide includes clear guidance, strategies, and case studies for the safe use of these therapeutic tools and self-regulation exercises for the public as well as clinicians working with those impacted by trauma, addiction, anxiety, grief, family dysfunction and stress.
Carolyn
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